The Minister of Industry Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka Anite, said an efficient consumer credit system is a highly essential component of a successful economy, as it works to improve market efficiency and fill in gaps in consumption and productivity by providing consumers immediate access to credit and allowing them to purchase ahead of ability.
The minister stated this at the inaugural meeting of the Technical Working Group for Consumer Finance in Abuja, noting that the absence of a well-structured consumer credit system has been a significant impediment to financial inclusion and economic prosperity.
He said: “The establishment of the Technical Working Group by the Presidential Council on Industrial Revitalization is timely and strategic, an initiative aimed, among other things, at proposing and implementing a viable institutional and regulatory framework that can significantly improve the consumer credit landscape.
“Nigeria has numerous financial institutions and credit schemes, but many Nigerians still face substantial hurdles in accessing credit due to stringent eligibility criteria, high-interest rates, identity-related challenges, fragmented data sources for proof of livelihood and financial worth, lack of awareness or understanding of credit processes, and inadequate credit available for lending.”
She said the Technical Working Group draws its members from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), the National Institute of Credit Administration (NICA), the Federal Competition & Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), the Bank of Industry (BOI) amongst others, and agreed on a five-month timeline to achieve its objectives.
